Friday, August 28, 2020

The Three Basic Resume Formats: Which One Is Best for You?

 

A resume can be thought of as a selling point when it comes to presenting yourself as a potential candidate for a job opening. Just like a buyer, the employer is going to scan through your resume and develop a preliminary impression as to whether they want to pursue you further or not. Thus, having a well-articulated resume puts you in a more positive and confident position when hunting for jobs.

In creative resume writing, there are quite a few structures or formats that you can follow, depending greatly on the type of job and the industry you are applying for. Here we have discussed the three major types of formats used for resume writing and which ones will work the best for you.

1.      Chronological Resume

A chronological resume is one of the most used formats for creative resume writing. In this format, you start with your work history and listing the work experience in reverse chronological order. In other words, you start with your present or latest job and continue down in that order.

A chronological resume might be the best option for professionals who have extensive work experience as it will create a clear draft for the employer. It will enable the recruiting manager to get useful insight into your career graph within a short time. 

If you are a newbie or are only starting within a specific industry, you might want to go with some other type of resume format.

2.      Functional Resume

A functional format highlights your experience and skills instead of listing the work history. You are still displaying your work experience, but is it categorized in terms of skillsets and accomplishments. There might also be a section for a summary or objective in the functional resume.

A functional resume would be a good option for people who have possibly had some career transitions or have an experience that is scattered among different industries. It might also be a suitable format for someone who is changing their career trajectory and is new to a particular workforce.

3.      Combination Resume

As the name suggests, a combination resume merges the most significant elements of both chronological and functional resume formats. There is still a significant focus on the skills, but there is also a separate section for listing the work history.

Using a combination resume, you can focus on your experience and skills, and at the same time, make your work history available to the employer as often it is something that they want to see. It is a good option to make sure that you include all the important details to maximize your chances of getting hired.